Homeowner’s earthquake claim falls apart

A man who says last year’s Victorian earthquake damaged his house will not have his insurance claim paid out after losing his dispute.

The 5.9 magnitude quake occurred around September 22 and, according to the complainant, caused damage that should have been covered by the home building insurance policy he purchased from Allianz.

In its decision, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) said it could not find substantial evidence to prove that the cracking to the complainant’s home was caused by an earthquake.

The man said the earthquake created cracks in the home’s plaster, interior walls, front steps, and garage concrete floors and damaged the front door and garage door. He later revised his claim to include only the plaster and wall damage.

The complainant’s policy covered damage by earthquakes if it was caused within 72 hours of the initial event.

Allianz arranged a loss adjuster to manage the claim, who appointed two experts to inspect the damage.

A builder reported that the cracks in the plaster and walls were consistent with general movement over time and not generated by the earthquake.

A structural engineer referred to as MF reported that the distance between the complainant’s home and the earthquake’s epicentre was so far that it was “not expected” to cause structural damage.

MF said that the damage to the home was minor and that the earthquake was not the cause of it.

The complainant provided photography of the damage as evidence that the earthquake caused the damage and said the engineer’s report was “biased”.

AFCA dismissed the claimant’s evidence, saying that the onus was upon him to prove that the earthquake was the cause of the damage and that he could have brought his own expert to dispute MF’s report.

AFCA said that the damage was likely the outcome of previous crack repairs and movement issues with the home, which was three years old.

The complainant sought compensation for stress he said he experienced due to the insurer’s “poor handling” of the claim, saying the matter was unreasonably delayed.

He reported the damage a day after the earthquake and challenged the engineer’s report filed on November 15. Allianz provided the man with a final response on December 13.

AFCA determined that the matter was handled appropriately and Allianz was not required to pay compensation to the complainant.

Click here for the full ruling.